Someone to be Thankful For
by LA-ink13
Summary: Callen knows who he's thankful for this year. (Just a little Thanksgiving one-shot)


In the past, every Thanksgiving had been the same. Spending the day at one of Hetty's houses, eating an expensive, catered meal. There would be two kinds of mashed potatoes - one "rustic" with lumps so Deeks wouldn't complain, and one smooth with potato flakes from a box so Kensi wouldn't complain. Eric would mix the two together on his plate and add peas and corn to them, and everyone would comment on his strange concoction. Sam would show up during dessert after his wife took their kids to a movie. Most of the team would be watching the game on the widescreen, but Nell and Deeks would have shooed the caters out and been cleaning the kitchen. Eric would have his tablet in his lab, quoting facts about each team, and Kensi would alternate between cheering for the team that played best, and the ones with the prettier uniforms.

That's what Thanksgiving used to be.

This year everything was different. Sam was taking his kids to his parents for dinner and leaving them there for the weekend. Quinn hadn't been about to get home, so Sam was trying to start a new tradition. Kensi and Deeks had accepted an invitation to Kensi's mother's house for dinner. Eric had decided to go home to see his family, and no one knew where Hetty was.

This year for dinner it was just he and Nell. At his house. Their house, if she'd ever agree to give up her apartment. He tried to talk her out of making a formal dinner, but she had insisted that it was just what the house needed to make a home. He thought that a twelve pound turkey was way more than they needed but she refused to scale it down.

When he had woken up Thanksgiving morning, the bed beside him was cold, and he could already smell food cooking.

Walking into the kitchen, he leaned against the doorframe and smiled. Nell was busy chopping vegetable while eating pancakes. He still had trouble believing that she was here. He often woke up in the middle of the night to just stare at her sleeping peacefully beside him. He wasn't sure how it happened. Coffee after a case, laughing as he drove her home, kissing her, it was all a blur. That had been four months ago, and it had changed his life forever. He had no hesitation, she was what he was thankful for this year.

She turned and grinned at him. Grabbing a bite of pancake she crossed the room and held it out to him. "Taste it. It's pecan and cinnamon. I made it."

"I thought you were making dinner," he said with a grin as he leaned down to taste the food in her hand. "They're good."

"There's some in the toaster oven holding warm," she said with a grin.

"I'm going to be too stuffed for dinner," he said with a laugh. "But I'll give them a try."

"Want to help me cook dinner?" Nell asked. "It'll be fun."

He took the plate of pancakes that she handed him and sat down at the breakfast bar. "I've never cooked Thanksgiving dinner before."

"You're never too old to learn," she said with a grin. She leaned in and kissed the side of his head, causing him to smile. Sitting down beside him, she gently squeezed his arm. "Want to talk about it?"

He shrugged. "I never had Thanksgiving dinner until Hetty started planning it. And even that no one had to cook."

"You didn't have it as a kid?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Foster parents don't really celebrate holidays with the kids they take in. They tended to leave the kids at home when they went to their relatives houses to celebrate. If you got leftovers, you counted yourself lucky."

"That's so sad," she said softly as she leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her into his lap. She cuddled against him for a few moments before leaning up and kissing his nose. "I'll teach you how to make an authentic Thanksgiving dinner. Or we'll catch something on fire and have to go out to eat."

"Why are we catching things on fire?" he asked.

She slipped from his lap and looked up at him. "Because I've never done this before. I've seen it done, but I've never actually made it."

"What?" he asked with a laugh. "I thought you knew what you were doing."

She shrugged. "I didn't burn the pancakes. How hard can dinner be?"

"That's because you know how to make pancakes," he said with a grin. "You make them at least twice a week."

"I can do this," she said. "With your help."

"Persuade me?" he said with a laugh.

"I'll show you how thankful I am tonight," she said with a grin.

"Good enough," he answered. "I'll hold you to it."

Two hours later when everything in the kitchen was dirty and the food was in one of the two double ovens in Callen's kitchen, or holding warm on the stove, Nell took his hand and drug him into the living room. She collapsed on couch pulling him down beside him.

"That was fun," she said with a laugh.

"You burnt the cranberry sauce," he said shaking his head.

"I didn't like cranberries anyways," she answered. "So it's not a real loss. Anyways, the stuffing that's in the oven looks amazing. So that's what counts."

"We're never going to be able to finish all that food," he said.

"Maybe we'll get help."

"What?"

She shrugged. "Eric may have called me last night and told me that his family was sick and he wasn't going home. And Deeks may have let it slip that dinner at Kensi's mom's got delayed until Saturday. And you know Sam's going to stop once dinner at his parents is over."

"You didn't think to tell me any of this?" he asked.

She shook her head. "If I told you, you would have gotten worried, and cooking wouldn't have been any of fun."

"What about Hetty?" he asked. "Is she going to show up too?"

"You know Hetty," Nell answered. "She 's sneaky. She'll probably slip in when we're not looking and end up carving the turkey."

"Thank you," Callen said softly.

"For what?"

"For giving me something to be thankful for."

Nell grinned up at him. "You know, the turkey had a few more hours to cook, everything else is holding warm, and no one is suppose to show up for over an hour."

"And?" he asked.

"And, I was think that maybe I could show you just how thankful I was for you," Nell said with a grin.

He nodded. "Don't let me get in the way of your thankfulness."

She grinned as he scooped her up and carried her into the bedroom. Lying down on the bed beside he, he kissed her softly and wrapped his arms around her, grateful to have someone in his life that he was so thankful for.


End file.
